Published: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 3:09 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 3:09 p.m.

Photo Galleries

Shrimpers around here can look back at their recent years of struggles, marked by low prices, rising costs and increasing — some of it illegal — competition from foreign nations.

Or, they can look forward to what they hope is an excellent year, one that brings big numbers of huge shrimp and high prices for their product.

The answer is that while everyone has to look back enough to remember where they’ve been, they are looking forward to what they hope is a great season.

“Fishermen are always optimistic,” said Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. “Between hurricanes, flooding, losing our boats and our homes, we have to be. It would be really easy just to quit and leave. But this is what we do. This is our culture.”

Guidry is right.

Shrimping is an important cog in the economic machine of south Louisiana. It provides jobs and incomes for shrimpers, dock workers and processors. And it provides a delicious staple of many people’s diets.

More than all of that, though, shrimping is part of our culture, our heritage.

It is a lingering throwback to an earlier time, when so many of our ancestors made their livings on the water. They were brave, hearty, hard-working and industrious — characteristics that lived on past the time when the industry was at its height.

While it has seen hard times of late, it is still an important part of life.

The people who hold onto this tough way of life do so because it is part of who they are, part of who we all are.

They don’t continue shrimping because it is an easy way to make money. It is far from that.

They don’t continue shrimping because their success is guaranteed. It is not.

Instead, they stick with it because it is what they do. They are people who are used to hard work and uncertain outcomes. But they are sustained by the hope that this season will be better than last, that they will pull in a successful harvest.

In the meantime, they have to focus on staying safe, getting through this new season and doing what they’ve always done — making the best of a tough industry that has tried them with challenges but always holds out hope of a brighter tomorrow.

<p>Shrimp season opened Monday morning, and there are two ways of looking at it.</p><p>Shrimpers around here can look back at their recent years of struggles, marked by low prices, rising costs and increasing — some of it illegal — competition from foreign nations.</p><p>Or, they can look forward to what they hope is an excellent year, one that brings big numbers of huge shrimp and high prices for their product.</p><p>The answer is that while everyone has to look back enough to remember where they've been, they are looking forward to what they hope is a great season.</p><p>“Fishermen are always optimistic,” said Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. “Between hurricanes, flooding, losing our boats and our homes, we have to be. It would be really easy just to quit and leave. But this is what we do. This is our culture.”</p><p>Guidry is right.</p><p>Shrimping is an important cog in the economic machine of south Louisiana. It provides jobs and incomes for shrimpers, dock workers and processors. And it provides a delicious staple of many people's diets.</p><p>More than all of that, though, shrimping is part of our culture, our heritage.</p><p>It is a lingering throwback to an earlier time, when so many of our ancestors made their livings on the water. They were brave, hearty, hard-working and industrious — characteristics that lived on past the time when the industry was at its height.</p><p>While it has seen hard times of late, it is still an important part of life.</p><p>The people who hold onto this tough way of life do so because it is part of who they are, part of who we all are.</p><p>They don't continue shrimping because it is an easy way to make money. It is far from that.</p><p>They don't continue shrimping because their success is guaranteed. It is not.</p><p>Instead, they stick with it because it is what they do. They are people who are used to hard work and uncertain outcomes. But they are sustained by the hope that this season will be better than last, that they will pull in a successful harvest.</p><p>In the meantime, they have to focus on staying safe, getting through this new season and doing what they've always done — making the best of a tough industry that has tried them with challenges but always holds out hope of a brighter tomorrow.</p><p>Editorials represent the opinions of</p><p>the newspaper, not of any individual.</p>